A rise in the minimum wage to match the living wage would be one of the first steps that need to be taken to diminish the cost of living crisis we are currently facing in New Zealand. At the moment, although we have just seen a $1.20 an hour increase in the minimum wage, we are still $2.45 an hour away from matching living wages. There is also still the issue of 'training wage', which is still used by employers. This payment is only $16.96 an hour, which is nowhere near viable for an individual. We see the need for the government to create a drastic change in order to assist the living wage movement and allow individuals in New Zealand access to move out of individual financial crises.